Mom knows best

Yes she does! Your mother told you to eat your vegetables, and she was absolutely right. She told you not to talk to strangers – right again. And she said, “Go ask your father” when she didn’t want to say no to you – very clever. Now, we get ready to celebrate one of America’s most wonderful, non-federal holidays, for the 106th time, Mother’s Day.

Let’s not think that Mother’s Day is purely an American holiday, it is not by any means. The tradition has been celebrated around the world for thousands of years in dozens of different countries. But here in the states, its origins date back to Grafton, West Virginia when Anna Jarvis first introduced the sentiment in honor of her deceased mother. There were other attempts in the U.S. to introduce Mother’s Day as a holiday, but they were mostly local celebrations that never took hold on a national level. It wasn’t until 1914 that the efforts of Jarvis paid-off; that’s when President Woodrow Wilson drafted the proclamation that we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Today, we will spend nearly $700 million on cards for the celebration and we will purchase $1.9 billion of flowers. In total, we spend $14.6 billion on gifts for Mother’s Day, and 83% of Dads say they take over some percentage of a mother’s responsibilities on the big day. Of course, Mother’s Day brunch is an economic engine by itself, but if you’re looking to stay home, or go to your mother’s place and make her brunch, try this Spinach and Potato Frittata recipe that only has a prep time of 10 minutes:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-and-Potato-Frittata/Detail.aspx?evt19=1.

So, thank you Anna Jarvis for your persistence in petitioning the government to make Mother’s Day a holiday that we can all celebrate. And to all the Mothers out there, have a wonderful day next Sunday.